


Five Days

by Shira_Taka



Category: Naruto
Genre: Caregiving, Domestic, First Love, Fluff, M/M, sick/recovery, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shira_Taka/pseuds/Shira_Taka
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke are freshmen in college and have just started dating when Sasuke comes down with a "mysterious throat-eating illness." Naruto is forced to care for a stubborn, grumpy Sasuke who suddenly cannot even remember his own advice about the importance of hydration.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 25
Kudos: 103
Collections: Extraordinary SNS Fics💕





	Five Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Horizon_moon_eclipse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Horizon_moon_eclipse/gifts).



> Horizon_moon_eclipse, I hope you enjoy this fic. I wanted it to be sweet and warm for you. <3 And... happy birthday, Naruto!

Naruto grinned brightly as he made his way across campus. If anyone had told him that having a boyfriend would inspire him to actually get up and get to class on time, he would have confessed his feelings to Sasuke a long time ago.

They had been dating for a week, now, and Naruto still felt butterflies every time Sasuke looked at him or when thoughts of his dark-haired partner flitted through his mind. Sometimes, he literally pinched himself. There was no way, he sometimes thought, that  _ Sasuke Uchiha _ was dating  _ him. _

When he reached Sasuke’s dormitory, though, he was shocked. Sasuke was not standing on the portico, as he usually was, so they could walk to class together. It was unusual for him to be late, especially without calling or texting Naruto. Naruto waited, shifting his weight from one foot to another and breathing into his hands. It was unusually cold, even for January.

After waiting for five minutes, Naruto began to worry. After fifteen, he full-on panicked. He texted Sasuke several times, but he received no response. Finally, he opened the door and barreled up the stairs to Sasuke’s room.

He was out of breath by the time he reached Sasuke’s floor. In peculiarly Sasuke fashion, he had requested a room on the fifth floor of the dormitory. That floor was widely believed to be haunted, plus there were no elevators in the old buiding. In addition, a colony of bats resided in the attic, and its members occasionally vacationed on the fifth floor hall. Sasuke ended up with an entire room to himself without having to pay single-occupant fees.

He banged on Sasuke’s door to no avail. He was about to give up and call for the RA when Sasuke pulled the door open.

“Naruto?” he croaked.

“We’re late for class, asshole, where have you been?” Naruto demanded.

“Late?” Sasuke asked, bewildered.

It was then that Naruto noticed how exceptionally pallid Sasuke was. Dark circles had formed beneath his eyes, and his lips were colorless. Naruto drew closer to him and pressed his wrist to his forehead. He could feel the heat radiate even before he made contact with his skin.

“Sasuke, fuck, you’re sick!” Naruto said. He pushed him back into his dorm room and forced him to sit on the bed. “You have an actual thermometer around here?”

Sasuke shook his head. “Don’t get sick, ever.”

“Well, you’re sick, now!” Naruto fumed.

“Not sick,” Sasuke complained. “Just overslept. C’mon. I have to get ready for class.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no. There’s no way in hell you’re going to class today, Sasuke Uchiha, you have a fever!” Naruto said. He turned and walked closer to Sasuke, until he was looking down on him where he sat on the bed. “Open up. Stick out your tongue and say ‘aahh.’”

Sasuke glared at him, but he did as he was told. His voice rasped and cracked even with that simple utterance. Naruto looked into his throat using the flashlight of his phone.

“Shit, Sasuke!” Naruto had intended the act as a simple flourish; he had not expected to see anything notable. Sasuke’s throat, though, was not the usual shade of pink; it was a very angry, vivid red. Moreover, white spots dappled the tissue in areas, even on his uvula. That had to be a bad sign, right?

“Shut up, dobe, you’re so loud,” Sasuke said hoarsely.

“Your throat is red, and there’s white spots all over it!” Naruto said. He could not remember Sasuke being sick ever before; now that he was, leave it to him to excel at it and end up with some throat-rotting, white-spot-causing, deadly disease.

“Shit,” Sasuke said. “That’s probably strep.”

“That’s bad, right?” Naruto asked nervously.

“It means I have to go to the doctor,” Sasuke murmured. “This won’t get well on its own.”

“Fine. Then let’s go. I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

Sasuke shook his head. “Don’t feel like walking.”

“Then I’ll drive you, dumbass! Look, I’ll go get my car and park it in the front of the dorm. You know they allow loading and unloading there,” Naruto said.

“No.”

“What?” Naruto asked in disbelief. “You just said you needed a doctor, and you also said you don’t feel like driving!”

“Your car is way across campus. Also, it’s a pig sty. I’m not riding in it.” Sasuke’s words were punctuated by an irritated-sounding cough.

“I don’t care, first of all, how far the walk is. And second of all, I don’t care how you feel about my car, you need a ride to the doctor!”

“Take mine,” Sasuke croaked. “Keys in the desk drawer.”

Naruto’s eyes goggled. Sasuke never let anyone else drive his car. He aimed on keeping it throughout their college experience, and they were just freshmen. He didn’t trust its care to any of their knuckleheaded cohort, and Naruto knew he must feel terrible if he entrusted it to him, now.

He didn’t take the time to hash it out, though, because it was clear that Sasuke felt awful, and Naruto wanted him in the infirmary as soon as possible. He took the keys and left, exiting into the bright, biting winter day, and walked the four blocks to the campus parking lot where Sasuke’s car was parked.

He took a deep breath as he unlocked the door of the black Acura; it was nearing “vintage-era” age, but Sasuke, who had bought it second hand, took meticulous care of it. Naruto buzzed with nerves as he slid into the leather driver’s seat and closed the door.

He adjusted the rear-view mirror only slightly. He and Sasuke were almost exactly the same height, so he did not have to bother with other adjustments. Slowly and carefully, he backed out of the parking space and drove around to the one-way street leading back to Sasuke’s dormitory.

He brought the car to a cautious stop in the space marked “loading and unloading only.” Sasuke was not out on the portico. Naruto sighed; he hated to leave the car unattended, as the campus police relentlessly prowled for parking violations, but he was worried about Sasuke.

Sasuke had only managed to change from his pajama pants when he opened the door for Naruto. He was still wearing the fleece pajama top, and he looked utterly exhausted.

“Forget getting dressed,” Naruto insisted. “Just put a coat on and let’s go.”

Sasuke usually did not bother much with coats and scarves—he seldom felt the bite of the cold, unlike Naruto. Naruto insisted, though, that he wear both. When he realized how sluggishly Sasuke was moving, he took matters into his own hands. He rifled through Sasuke’s closet, disdainful of the lightweight jackets and windbreakers, and found, in the very back, a long, black, woolen coat that he had bought for Sasuke on a thrifting expedition.

He placed the coat over Sasuke’s shoulders and helped him slide his arms into the sleeves, disregarding the irritated swats Sasuke aimed at his hands. Sasuke owned no scarves, so he took off his own and wrapped it gently around his neck. If his throat were sore, surely it needed to be protected from the nipping north wind.

Sasuke reluctantly acquiesced to Naruto’s steadying arm as they walked, but only after a dizzy spell had nearly made him stumble down the stairs. Slowly and deliberately, they made their way down the seemingly interminable stairs and out of the dorm.

As they approached Sasuke’s car, Naruto noted with alarm that a parking inspector was placing a ticket on Sasuke’s windshield.

“Officer!” he cried. “Please! Wait, please don’t give us a ticket!”

The officer looked up at Naruto. “You parked illegally.”

“Yeah, but this is a loading spot, isn’t it? And my f… my boyfriend is really,  _ really  _ sick, and he’s having a hard time walking, and I’ve gotta get him to the infirmary, and I wouldn’t have parked here if I could’ve parked somewhere else…”

The officer looked at Sasuke. In the sunlight, it was obvious just how pale and unwell he really was.

She shook her head. “OK, kid. Don’t make a habit of it, all right?”

“Thank you, officer, thank you so much!” Naruto exclaimed. As she drove off, he eased Sasuke into the passenger seat.

“Thanks for getting me out of that parking ticket,” Sasuke rasped out.

“You don’t deserve to deal with that on top of being sick,” Naruto answered. Sasuke found his hand and gently squeezed it, then promptly went to sleep.

The infirmary was busy, and the wait was long. Sasuke slept sitting up in the hard, plastic chair in the waiting room, and Naruto studied him quietly. He and Sasuke had known each other since second grade. He reached out and took Sasuke’s hand into his own. After several minutes, Sasuke shifted with a groan and gripped Naruto’s hand in turn. 

Sasuke’s name was called at last, and Naruto watched anxiously as he stumbled through the door to the exam rooms. He fidgeted as he waited. About thirty minutes later, Sasuke emerged, the Nurse Practitioner behind him. 

“Well?” Naruto asked as he rushed up to him. “What’d they say? Are you gonna be okay?”

“Ask him,” Sasuke said. His voice sounded even more raw than it had before. “Can’t talk.”

Naruto turned to the NP. “So? What’s going on with him?”

“I need your name,” the NP said. “We have privacy policies.”

“Naruto Uzumaki.”

“Sasuke put you down as an emergency contact and a person his information could be released to,” the nurse said. “So I can tell you he has strep throat. The rapid test came back positive, so there’s no need to do the longer one. He’s contagious and should stay out of class and other activities until his fever has passed for 48 hours. He has a prescription for antibiotics, and he’s to take them until he finishes them, even if he feels better before he finishes him.”

The young man looked at Naruto guardedly. “It says on Sasuke’s forms that you’re his boyfriend?”

Butterflies swarmed in Naruto’s stomach again. “Yeah, that’s right.” 

They had not yet announced their relationship to their friends. But Sasuke had not only just listed him as his boyfriend on  _ official paperwork _ , he had designated him, basically, as his next-of-kin. 

“Strep is highly contagious. Kissing and other intimate activities should be avoided until he’s asymptomatic,” the NP said.

Naruto blushed. He and Sasuke had not been intimate, yet; they’d only stolen kisses when free time and privacy aligned. 

“Yeah, okay, got it,” Naruto said hastily. 

He walked Sasuke out to the front of the infirmary and made him wait until he could pull the car around. He didn’t need to instruct him to do the same at the dormitory; Sasuke was so tired and weak that he sat on the step and slumped against a column until Naruto parked the car and came back. 

In Sasuke’s room, Naruto eased him onto the bed and pulled a fleece throw over him. Sasuke immediately went back to sleep. 

A few minutes later, Naruto shook him awake. “Take your medicine. It’s important!”

Sasuke groaned and sat up. He took the capsule and the soda Naruto offered him, wincing as he swallowed. 

“Drink more,” Naruto urged. 

“Hurts,” Sasuke whined.

Naruto looked at him, aghast. Since when did Sasuke complain? Since when did Sasuke admit to anything hurting? It shook Naruto and upset him.

“I know. But you gotta stay hydrated, isn’t that right? When you’re sick, you’ve gotta drink a lot,” Naruto urged.

Sasuke shook his head and frowned. For a moment, he looked like a recalcitrant toddler, and it made Naruto smile. 

“Just two more sips. Just for me. Please?” Naruto cajoled.

Sasuke made a face, but he took two tiny sips of the ginger ale before thrusting the can back at Naruto insistently.

“That’s good, Sasuke. Good job,” Naruto praised. Sasuke was already asleep again. 

Naruto looked around helplessly. He wasn’t sure what to do for somebody who was sick; he had never been carefully tended to on those few occasions when a flu laid him low. 

Well, except that one time in high school…

Sasuke had skipped school to stay with Naruto, urging him to eat chicken noodle soup and forcing water down his gullet when he didn’t feel like swallowing a thing. That was where he had learned that dehydration was bad for sick people, because Sasuke had smacked him upside his aching head and told him, “It’s dangerous for sick people to get dehydrated, usuratonkachi. Drink up.”

He looked in Sasuke’s mini fridge. There was nothing in here except a half-gone bottle of vodka. Naruto had to go shopping. He pocketed Sasuke’s keys so he’d be able to let himself back in, then dashed downstairs. 

He didn’t want to drive Sasuke’s car any more than was necessary--it made him far too nervous--so he walked all the way across campus and beyond, to the small grocery store used by the off-campus students. 

“What would I buy if I were Sasuke?” he thought as he pushed his trolly through the aisles. He knew he despised cup ramen, so that was out. He ended up settling for some miso paste, tea leaves, and a few cans of the expensive chicken noodle soup. Naruto didn’t have much disposable income; the handful of items cost him dearly, but he wanted Sasuke to have the best. At the very end, he thought to add a bag of oranges. He lugged the meager assortment of groceries back to campus, trying not to focus on how the wind stung his face or the way it hurt his lungs when he breathed it in. 

He realized he had a conundrum when he reached Sasuke’s dorm room. Hot plates and microwaves were forbidden in the dorm rooms. Sasuke had an electric kettle and a single mug. If he were to make him anything, he would have to be creativet. He stowed the miso in the mini-fridge and looked over at Sasuke.

He slept heavily, and he had begun to sweat. Naruto panicked. Was that a good thing? A bad thing? He couldn’t remember. He stepped out into the hallway and dialed Tsunade. 

She answered on the first ring. “What is it, brat?”

Naruto twisted the tail of his shirt in his hand. “Sasuke’s sick, baa-chan,” he blurted out. “And he’s got a fever, and he’s sweating, and I don’t know if that’s okay or not, and I’m really worried... “

“He’s sick? Do you know what he has?” 

“The nurse at infirmary says it’s strep throat, and he’s supposed to take medicine, and I made him take it, but now, he’s sleeping like he’s dead and he’s sweating so much…”

“Naruto,” Tsunade snapped, “slow down. You said he has strep, for sure?”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, near to tears. Seeing Sasuke sick was unnerving enough. Seeing him passed out the way he currently was struck at his worst fears.

“And you got his medicine?” 

“Yeah, I made him take it first thing.” He sniffled. 

“It’s going to be okay, brat,” Tsunade reassured him. “Strep isn’t fun, but he’ll be fine if he takes his medicine. Don’t worry about the sweat. He’ll probably do that a few times as his body fights off the bacteria. If he’s in pain, you can give him some Tylenol.”

“I got him some oranges,” Naruto said brokenly. “Vitamin C is s’posed to help, isn’t it, Granny?”

“That’s sweet, Naruto. Yes, keep him nourished and hydrated and on his medicine, and he’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Thanks, Granny,” Naruto said.

“It’s all right. You call me any time.” Tsunade was always gruff, but Naruto could hear the softness creeping into her voice. “And Naruto?”

“Yeah?”

“Take care of yourself, too.”

“I will, baa-chan.”

“You’d better.” Naruto could almost hear the smile in Tsunade’s voice, and he wished suddenly that she was closer to him and Sasuke. The distance between their hometown and their university had been freeing at first; with Sasuke so uncharacteristically ill, it made him feel as if they were stranded on another planet.

He ended the call and pocketed his phone, then went in to check on Sasuke. 

“Hey,” he said gently. Sasuke did not respond. 

He shook Sasuke’s shoulder. “Sasuke! Hey!”

Sasuke groaned and grimaced in his sleep, but he did not wake. 

Naruto shook him harder, much harder than he supposed one ought to shake a sick person. “ _ Asshole!”  _ he shouted. “Wake the fuck up!”

Sasuke’s eyes fluttered open, and he trained a pointed glare at Naruto. With his eyes glassy and his face so unusually pale, the expression was not nearly as threatening. 

“What is it, dobe?” he whispered. 

“You need to drink something,” Naruto said. He forced the can of ginger ale back into Sasuke’s hand. “I’m gonna sit right here until you do!”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but he thought better of arguing. He drank most of the can, even though he whimpered pitifully when he finished.

“Your throat hurting?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded. 

“You got any Tylenol?” 

Sasuke shook his head. “Never need it.”

Naruto shuddered at the thought of walking all the way back to the store. He then remembered that his roommate kept a plethora of analgesics on hand. 

“I’ll be back,” he said. “Anything you want?”

“For you to stop yelling,” Sasuke said in his scratchy, new voice. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Naruto grumbled, but he lowered his voice. He quietly closed the door and ran down the stairs of Sasuke’s dorms for the third time. 

Sasuke was half-awake when he returned with the stolen medicines. 

“Here,” Naruto said breathlessly. He found an unopened bottle of water on Sasuke’s desk. “Take two of these. Granny said you could have this for pain.”

Sasuke balked for a moment, but he took the Tylenol and the water and threw the tablets back. 

“You hungry, Sasuke?” Naruto asked. 

Sasuke shook his head. “Hurts to swallow.”

“Yeah, I know,” Naruto said sympathetically. He kissed Sasuke’s forehead, which was only slightly cooler than it had been that morning. “Sleep some more. I’ll figure out something that doesn’t hurt too much, all right?”

The cafeteria was next door to Sasuke’s dorm. They weren’t really, technically,  _ allowed  _ to take food out of the caf. The “caf police” made a big deal of letting them know that at orientation. But Sasuke needed something to eat, he had no kitchen, and rules were made to be broken, right?

“N-n-naruo?” 

He jumped, startled out of his musings by Hinata’s timid voice. “Hey, Hina.”

“Hey.” Hinata blushed and looked at her feet. “Um. N-n-naruto, you… um… want to eat? I was um… you know.” She gestured to the cafeteria building. 

“Nah, Hinata. Sasuke’s sick, and I’m trying to figure out how to bring him some sherbet. His throat hurts so bad, y’know?” Naruto said in a rush.

“I… I can bring it to you.”

“Seriously?” he said, his heart thumping loudly.

“Y-yes. J-just wait for me. Um. By the side door.” 

“Hinata! You’re a genius! Thank you!” Naruto shouted. She blushed even darker and smiled. 

“I’ll b-be there soon, N-naruto.”

About five minutes later, Hinata pushed the side door open and hastily shoved a bowl of lime sherbet out through the narrow crack. Naruto took it and patted her hand in thanks. Lime sherbet was the only one that he had ever seen Sasuke indulge. He rushed back into the dormitory and up the stairs. 

He ran his hand through Sasuke’s hair. “Wake up,” he whispered. Sasuke made a low growling noise in his throat and nestled against his hand. Naruto found it incredibly endearing, but he had a bowl full of melting lime sherbet in his hand, and he knew Sasuke needed some form of nourishment. 

He rested his hand over Sasuke’s chest and shook gently. “Get up, teme,” he said, trying to imbue his voice with authority without being loud. 

Sasuke grunted and made a face. “What are you doing?” 

His voice sounded even worse; Naruto had not realized that was possible, and it worried him terribly. 

“You need to eat something. I brought you sherbet.” 

Sasuke opened one eye. “Lime?”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re dealing with? Of course, it’s fucking lime,” Naruto said. 

Sasuke smiled wanly and sat up. “Thanks.”

“Don’t talk. Just thank me when your voice doesn’t sound like you ate razor blades.” Sasuke glared at him, but he took the sherbet Naruto handed him.

He only ate half before he shoved the bowl back into Naruto’s hand. “No more.”

Naruto took the sticky bowl to the sink and rinsed the melted sherbet away as best he could. Sasuke was thoroughly exhausted from eating. He was now slumped over and shivering uncontrollably. Naruto climbed into the bed behind him and tugged the blankets up over the two of them. He pulled Sasuke close, draping his arm and leg over him in an attempt to warm him up. 

Sasuke shook violently for several minutes, even in his sleep. Naruto lay still against him; it was the first time they had shared a bed since childhood, and instead of it being a landmark in their new relationship, it was because Sasuke was sick and cold. 

Naruto tried to keep Tsunade’s words in mind--it was a common infection, he would get better--but seeing Sasuke so helpless frightened and pained him. Naruto had never had to care for someone else before. He had never had to argue with someone about staying hydrated or taking their medicine, and he didn’t know what signs to worry over or to dismiss. What if something went really wrong? What if Sasuke had complications; how would Naruto even know? 

The emotions and exhaustion of the day settled into his body, weighing him down. He sniffled, trying vainly to hold back the childish tears that threatened in the corners of his eyes. Sasuke was his most precious person. He could not bear for him to hurt; he could not bear to fail him. 

He stroked the other boy’s hair from his clammy face. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

When he woke again, twilight had just descended over the campus. Outside of Sasuke’s window, the sky was lavender and blue. He had imagined many times what it would be like to wake beside Sasuke. He had never envisaged it happening quite this way. 

Still.

He would take it. Anything was bearable, if they were together. 

Naruto eased out of the cramped little bed, a bed barely adequate for one of them, much less both. He thought wistfully of the soup he’d bought, and the lack of kitchen equipment. He then recalled that his dormitory had a small kitchen on the ground floor; Sasuke’s might, as well. 

He gathered up the soup and the miso and quietly let himself out of Sasuke’s room. Downstairs, he found a bare-bones kitchen equipped with a stovetop, a sink, and a full-sized refrigerator. 

He rifled through the cupboards until he located a single pot. He read the directions to prepare the miso and brought some water to boil, then realized he had nothing to stir with. He found an assemblage of odd cutlery pieces in the drawer to the right of the stovetop and carefully spooned the paste into water. He stirred nervously, trying to break up the lumps of paste that refused to dissolve. 

Finally, he had something similar to a proper miso soup, if one overlooked the small clumps that remained. He turned off the stove and carefully carried the hot, steaming pan out of the kitchen. 

He sloshed the hot liquid over his hands more than once on the journey up to what most residents derisively termed the “Buzzard Floor.” He lamented that more of the miso would end up on his sleeves and the dormitory carpet than in Sasuke’s stomach.

Sasuke was awake this time, but his eyes were glazed and vacant as he lay on his side. He looked up at Naruto when he came in. 

“Hey,” Naruto told him. He set the pot down on the desk and knelt by Sasuke’s bed. “You feeling any better?”

Sasuke held up his palm and made a so-so gesture. Naruto took his hand and kissed the knuckles. Sasuke lightly batted at his head and scowled.

“Don’t be stupid and get this shit,” he rasped. 

Naruto chuckled. “If I’ve got it, I’ve got it. Nothing I can do about it, now. Sit up. You need to eat.”

Sasuke folded his arms over his chest and glared up at Naruto.

“Don’t look at me that way,” Naruto admonished, “you stubborn ass. You gotta eat at least a little if you’re gonna get well and stay out of hospital.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he sat up. Naruto positioned Sasuke’s lone pillow behind him and rinsed the spoon from the sherbet again. “I made you miso,” he told him. 

Sasuke looked surprised at this. When Naruto brought the pot off of the desk and presented it to Sasuke with the spoon, he smiled wryly and shook his head.

“Don’t be a snob!” Naruto chided. “That’s all that was down there in the kitchen!”

Sasuke looked at him tenderly and smiled, filling Naruto with affection and warmth. He spooned the cooling soup into his mouth unsteadily. He ate most of it before thrusting the pot back at him impatiently. 

Relief and pride washed over Naruto. Sasuke had eaten, he was in no immediate danger of malnutrition or dehydration; Naruto, for the moment, was a competent caregiver.

He found Sasuke’s electric kettle and his mug--clean and neatly put away, of course--and set on some water. He placed some of the tea he’d bought into the mug. As he poured the hot water over the leaves, an idea occurred to him. He peeled one of the oranges and squeezed the juice from several sections into the cup. He knew Sasuke would not take sugar, but the orange might give him a little more energy and whatever else it was that oranges were supposed to do for sick people. 

Sasuke accepted the mug and raised it to his lips. He took a cautious sip, then raised his eyebrows. “T’s good,” he said.

Naruto’s chest swelled with pride. “Well, drink it all down. You’ve been sleeping’ a lot, so you need to drink a bunch.”

Sasuke flushed, but he also smiled, and Naruto blushed himself and looked away. He managed to make him drink two more mugs.

“Naruto,” Sasuke said when he finished his last cup, “can you read our lit assignment for me?”   
  


“Yeah! Sure!” Naruto hated reading aloud as he hated few things. But for Sasukel, he’d do pretty much anything. 

Sasuke dozed again before Naruto got a quarter of the way through “Everyday Use.” He gratefully set the anthology down and checked his messages as Sasuke slept. As the night wore on, he woke Sasuke long enough to force his medicine on him--then he once again crammed himself into bed alongside him.

When Naruto woke, winter sunlight bathed Sasuke’s dorm room. One arm was asleep from having been crushed under Sasuke throughout the night. One foot was asleep because it was dangling off the bed at a strange angle. He winced as he wrenched his limbs free from Sasuke’s sleeping form and sat on the edge of the bed.

Sasuke’s face had more color in it today, and his breaths were even and peaceful. Naruto’s stomach cramped and growled; he had eaten little yesterday in his eagerness to care for Sasuke. He glanced at the time and realized that the caf was still serving breakfast. He could eat and bring something back for Sasuke, effectively killing two birds with one stone. 

The cafeteria was lonely without Sasuke. Most of Naruto’s other friends were in class by now. He helped himself to cereal, bacon, and eggs, then carefully filled a small bowl with oatmeal and fruit for Sasuke. He grabbed a glass of orange juice for good measure before he sneaked out of the caf.

Sasuke roused when Naruto came back in. “You need to go to class,” he said. His voice was still rough, but nowhere near as bad as it had been the day before.

“I’m fine. I won’t skip anymore after this. We can miss three classes without an excuse, and this is the first I’ve missed,” Naruto said cheerfully. He handed Sasuke the oatmeal and orange juice. 

To his relief, Sasuke ate the entire bowl. 

“You skipped yesterday, too,” Sasuke reminded him. 

“Yeah, but that was a whole different bloc. I’ll be fine.”

Sasuke looked at him askance but said nothing. He accepted his medicine from Naruto and allowed him to check his forehead for fever. He was still warmer than usual, but not uncomfortably hot as he’d been the previous day. 

The day after, Sasuke insisted that Naruto attend class, even though Sasuke still felt weak. Naruto grudgingly attended, nervously checking his phone every five minutes as the professor droned on about Alice Walker’s stories. 

He bolted as soon as class was dismissed. Sasuke had just emerged from the shower and was dressing when he came back. Naruto stared in awe as the light slanted down through the lintel over the window, outlining Sasuke’s shirtless form. 

“What are you looking at, perv?” Sasuke said with a teasing smile.

“My hot boyfriend.”

“I’m literally hot. How high is the thermostat set?” 

Naruto was comfortable, especially after his long, cold walk from class “Uh, it’s set to 68, Sasuke.”

Sasuke looked crestfallen. “Guess it’s the strep.” He climbed back in bed. Naruto took the chair, nodding off as he tried to read for his next class.

Hinata informed Naruto at lunch time that he could use Sasuke’s meal card and request a to-go box for him, since he was sick. Naruto wished he’d known that yesterday, before he had baptized himself and half the dorm with miso. He gratefully piled a styrofoam container full of things he knew Sasuke usually enjoyed; baked chicken, steamed vegetables, rice, and mixed fruit. 

He was glad when Sasuke ate everything without complaint. By nightfall, Sasuke was back to his normal temperature. 

By the following morning, Sasuke was wakeful enough to insist upon studying their common classes together. The day after that, he declared that he was just fine, thank you very much, and kicked Naruto out with stern instructions to shower and dress at his own place. 

Naruto had forgotten to take care of himself, beyond stuffing his face, while Sasuke was sick. He relaxed under the steaming water of the shower, then dressed in his favorite sweats. 

Sasuke was waiting for him under the portico of his dorm, wearing one of his unseasonably light jackets. He’d tied Naruto’s scarf around his neck, though, which made Naruto smile proudly. They were halfway to class when Sasuke tugged Naruto’s hand out of his pocket and twined their fingers together.

Naruto looked down at their joined hands and up at Sasuke, but he stared ahead expressionlessly. He squeezed his hand and settled into the warmth between them, a warmth he had never really known in his life. 

As per their usual custom, they had lunch together. Hinata turned to greet them in the line, blushing as she noticed their entwined hands. She smiled gently. “I’m g-glad you’re f-feeling better, S-Sasuke,” she said.

“Thank you. It was all due to Naruto’s exceptional care,” Sasuke replied. Naruto felt himself melt inside. “Escaping his ‘care’ was a powerful incentive to get better.”

“Bastard,” Naruto said, nudging him with his shoulder. Sasuke smirked at him, but there was a faint blush to his cheeks that Naruto knew was not due to fever.

Hinata giggled. 

After their last class for the day, they studied in the library and ate dinner. Naruto reluctantly removed his hand from Sasuke’s grip at the entrance to the dormitory. 

Sasuke snatched his hand back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Back to my dorm?” Naruto said, confused. 

“Why? When there’s nobody in my dorm room and I don’t have a fever anymore.” Sasuke glowered at him, but in his eyes, Naruto could see the vulnerability and the invitation he couldn’t quite bring himself to make. 

“Yeah, okay.”

  
  


Naruto trembled as he sat beside Sasuke on his bed. They had kissed before, but those had been hasty, stolen kisses. This was an order of magnitude greater. Sasuke tentatively brushed his tongue over Naruto’s lower lip. When Naruto opened his mouth to welcome him, he thought that nothing could ever feel as good as kissing--really kissing--the boy you adored. 

Sasuke peppered his face and his neck with little kisses, though, and that also felt amazing… 

Then, at some point, they both ended up shirtless, and feeling Sasuke’s bare chest against his nearly made him cry out. 

Hands reached out, tracing angles and edges. This was uncharted territory for both of them, and Naruto felt as if his brain might explode from how unbearably wonderful it felt. 

He broke away reluctantly, trying to catch his breath. Sasuke’s cheeks were dusted with pink, and his lips were swollen and red. 

“What’s wrong?” Sasuke asked him.

“Uh,” Naruto nervously clenched his fist and released it. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just… if we continue… uh... I’m... “

Sasuke smiled tenderly. It was an expression Naruto had never seen him make before. He pulled Naruto back against him and kissed him again. His hand brushed the bulge in Naruto’s pants. 

“Sasuke... “ Naruto said in a strangled voice, “I’m too... “

“Hush,” Sasuke said. He reached under the waistband of Naruto’s sweatpants, then under the tightening briefs, to touch his bare erection. Being touched there by another person for the first time sent shockwaves through Naruto’s body. 

Sasuke stroked from the base to the tip. To Naruto’s shame, he knew he would not last long. 

“Wait,” he ground out. Sasuke paused and looked at him questioningly. “You, too,” Naruto said. 

Sasuke smiled at him again, and Naruto carefully lowered his zipper and took him into his hand. They kissed clumsily as they stroked each other. Naruto was disappointed to reach orgasm first; this was a contest he would gladly have taken second place to Sasuke in. 

Sasuke, though, was not far behind him. Naruto thought to himself, as they both caught their breath, that seeing Sasuke undone in this way, when he was usually so controlled and aloof, was satisfying in its own right. 

Naruto flopped back onto the bed as Sasuke went into the adjoining bathroom to get tissues. They cleaned themselves up and washed their hands. Just as Naruto began preparing himself to go back to his own place, Sasuke flung a set of pajamas at him.

“Stay,” he said gruffly, and once again, Naruto could see past the imperious veil enough to perceive the tenderness Sasuke struggled to communicate. 

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” he said. “Not like I haven’t been here all week or anything.”

Sasuke looked up sharply, and Naruto bit his tongue in regret.

“It’s just… well… I like staying here,” Naruto fumbled. “It’s not like it’s... “

Sasuke fisted his hand in the front of Naruto’s shirt and yanked him closer. “Shut up,” he said. He pecked him on the lips and released him, turning around to climb into the bed. He held the covers up, waiting for Naruto to join him.

“Oh, look who wants to be the big spoon tonight,” Naruto teased delightedly.

“Would you ever be quiet?” Sasuke asked as Naruto squirmed into place beside him.

“Somebody in this relationship has to actually use words sometimes,” Naruto quipped.

Sasuke pulled Naruto tightly against him and buried his nose in his neck. 

It wasn’t long before Naruto began dozing. The week had been long, and unusual, and then… it had finished in the best possible way. He basked in Sasuke’s warmth. He was not quite asleep and not quite awake when he felt Sasuke’s lips move against the skin of his neck and heard a faint whisper. 

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic for the lovely Horizon_moon_eclipse, whose support and kind reviews have meant so much to me as an author. Also--it's Naruto's birthday!


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